The Flight of a Rose
by GhostPhoenix113
Summary: Lieutenant Weiss Schnee is on the fast track to being the commander of the air group on board the Remnant Federation's flagship. That is until a hotshot pilot, fresh out of the academy, comes in and takes the spot ahead of her. What will happen when she and her new leader are thrust into a conflict that will span the stars? White Rose sci-fi AU.
1. Ch 1: The New Girl

"Ambush!"

The word rang out clear as a bell within the R.F.S Beacon's Combat Information Center {**A/N***}, even as it started to quake under multiple impacts.

"Attention all hands, this is the Captain, we are under pirate attack. All hands to battle stations, all hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill," the ship's captain said into the intercom.

The ship's Executive Officer{**A/N***}, Commander Glynda Goodwitch, looked over to him.

"Shall I give the order to launch fighters, sir?" she asked, too which he simply nodded.

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Weiss Schnee was already sprinting to her fighter when the intercom went off again.<p>

"Attention on the flight deck, this is the X.O," Commander Goodwitch called. "Launch all available fighters, repeat, launch all available fighters for emergency intercept."

Weiss stopped for a brief moment to admire her fighter. One of the first brand-new F-290 Paladin class light fighters to roll off the line, it truly was a marvel of engineering. It was armed with four particle cannons, two of which were embedded in the wingtips, with the other two under the nose, hardpoints for two missile racks, each capable of holding two missiles, a shield generator that was capable of surviving twice the damage of earlier generations, and was capable of out-turning even the fastest of the previous generation of fighters. Weiss's was painted a shimmering white with the image of a small flower underneath the cockpit, with the word _Myrtenaster_ emblazoned in a pale blue across the stem.

Weiss climbed the ladder into the cockpit and sealed it shut. She tapped a few controls, and her HUD shimmered to life in front of her eyes.

"Ice Queen, ready for launch!" She called into her helmet.

"Copy," the flight deck controller replied. "Moving you into the tube now!"

Weiss's fighter lurched slightly as it was pulled into the launch tube. Weiss made one last brief check over her fighter's systems while waiting for the remaining fighters to get ready.

"Weapons..check," she thought aloud. "Engines...check...shields...check...cooling systems...check...fuel...this should be enough."

"All fighters ready for launch!" a voice in her helmet crackled.

"Copy," another voice replied, this one belonging to the Beacon's commander of the air group {**A/N***}, "All fighters, _launch!_"

Suddenly, Weiss was thrown back in her seat as her fighter was flung out of the launch tube. Taking a quick glance around to get her bearings, she saw the usual blackness of space completely obscured by flak fire and heavy cannon blasts. There were at least four pirate Taijitu-class destroyers surrounding the Beacon, whose shields were shimmering a brilliant blue underneath the onslaught they were facing, but still holding strong. She quickly picked out a fighter that was starting a strafing run on the Beacon as her target and turned her fighter to engage it. Even as her particle cannons began to shred the fighter before her eyes, she saw still more fighters beginning to engage her fellows. It was going to be a long battle.

* * *

><p>Weiss felt her fighter shudder slightly as she landed it on the carrier's flight deck. She jumped down the ladder and to the floor, where two of the other squadron leaders were already waiting for her.<p>

"'Sup Ice Queen," Yang said as she walked over. "Nice work out there today."

"You as well Yang," Weiss said with a nod.

"You really saved my hide from those two Beowolves," Yang said, before she laughed a little. "I swear, Ember Celica may be able to take a few hits, but turning is really not her strong point."

"Well, you shouldn't have chosen to fly a heavy fighter then," Blake replied.

"Yeah, but have you _seen_ the cannons on the Bullhead? I can practically take out a frigate with those things!"

"I have seen them," Weiss replied. "And I still prefer maneuverability over raw firepower. All the damage in the galaxy makes no difference if you can't get your guns to line up on target."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you guys seen the CAG? I needed to talk to him."

Weiss looked at her feet. "He died during the fight."

Yang's eyes widened. "Oh hell. When?"

"He was about to make a strafing run on one of the destroyers when a lucky railgun shot punched through his cockpit."

"Damn. 'Least it was quick then," Yang said with a heavy sigh.

Blake nodded as she took off her helmet, revealing a pair of cat ears underneath. "I believe you're next in line for promotion, are you not?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Weiss replied.

"Well, you _are_ the ship's top ace," Yang said. "It'd make sense for you to be promoted."

"I suppose we'll just have to wait for the captain to-" Blake started before she was interrupted by the intercom.

"Attention all hands, this is the Captain speaking. We will be returning to port due to losses among the fighter group, as well as to refuel and resupply. When we arrive, all personnel are granted shore leave for the duration. That is all."

Weiss sighed. "Well, I guess we'll find out who the CAG is later then."

* * *

><p><em>Equalizing local pressure with exterior atmospheric conditions<em>, the R.F.S. Beacon's {**A/N***} synthesized voice called calmly as Weiss stepped into the airlock. The door hissed open, revealing the clean halls of the Remnant Federation shipyards. Weiss stepped through and was about to look for a shuttle to the surface when she heard someone speak behind her.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant?" a young sounding voice called out. "Is that the airlock for the R.F.S. Beacon?"

Weiss turned around and saw a young woman with short, black-and-red hair and silver eyes looking at her.

"Why?" Weiss asked, her tone a little icy.

"Well, I have orders here to report to the captain of the Beacon for assignment." She began to dig through her pockets. "If you'll just give me a moment, I can-"

"Don't bother. Yes it is the Beacon," Weiss said, rolling her eyes slightly. "However, the captain may not be aboard, as we will all be on shore leave for the next day or so while we restock and refuel."

She looked crestfallen. "Well, you wouldn't be able to tell me where I could find him then?"

Weiss shook her head in exasperation. "No, I would not. He may still be in the CIC, but short of that, I have no idea."

"Thanks Lieutenant!" the girl said. "See you on board!"

When the girl turned to run off, however, Weiss thought she saw a Lieutenant Commander's insignia on her shoulder.

_No way_, Weiss thought. _There's no way she out-ranks me. She hardly looks like she could have completed academy training with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. And she certainly acts like she just completed training too._ she sighed. _I guess I'll just have to wait and see_.

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Commander Ruby Rose stepped through the clear door that lead to the CIC, and saw a single man standing in front of the tactical display table.<p>

"Erm, excuse me, sir?" she called nervously. "I was ordered to report to the Captain of the R.F.S. Beacon?"

The man turned around and looked at the girl, revealing a captain's insignia as he did so.

"And you are?" he asked.

Ruby stood at attention and saluted. "Lieutenant Commander Ruby Rose, sir."

He nodded and returned the salute. "Welcome aboard the R.F.S. Beacon Lieutenant Commander. Regrettably, I don't have enough time to go over with you what your duties will be here right now as I need to go meet with the Admiral, but I'll be able to give you a full briefing tomorrow. Meet me on the flight deck at oh-eight-thirty tomorrow."

Ruby saluted again. "Aye, aye sir."

Ruby turned on her heels and walked back through the doors. She began to wander through the halls, admiring the sleek, clean interior of the ship. It was a far cry from the several-decade-old cruiser she had served on during the wargames at the end of her academy training. She eventually found her way down to the flight deck, where her fighter, an F-290 Paladin, was already being towed into the hangar. she walked over to the craft and placed her hand on it. It was painted in a shimmering black that made it look almost as if it were made from solid obsidian with crimson trimming from the cockpit to the main engines, as well as more trim along the leading edges of the craft. Beneath the cockpit there was painted the image of a rose, with a stem the ended in a scythe's blade. Underneath the image read the words "Crescent Rose."

"Quite a ship you got there," someone said from behind Ruby.

"Thanks!" Ruby replied without turning around. "I've actually done a lot of tuning on her. Had a bit of a reputation at the academy for being able to both fly fighters and tune them so they fly even better."

"Hah, sounds exactly like someone I know."

Ruby turned around to see a woman with excessively long blonde hair, purple eyes, and a goofy grin that said that she already knew who she was talking to.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, and sprinted over to hug her sister.

"How'er ya doing sis?" she asked with a slight laugh as she broke from the hug.

"Great! I had no idea you were assigned to the Beacon!"

"Could say the same thing about you, ya know. What squadron posting did you get?"

Ruby shrugged. "Dunno yet. Captain said he'd brief me tomorrow on what my duties'll be."

Yang glanced down at Ruby's uniform. "Wait a minute. Did you complete training as an LC?"

"Yeah, thanks in no small part to my leading my ship's fighter wing in Operation Black Flag {**A/N***}. Why?"

The blonde shook her head. "Oh man, Ice Queen is _not_ going to be happy about this."

"Ice Queen? And what won't she be happy about?"

"'Ice Queen' is Lieutenant Weiss Schnee, top scoring ace on the boat. She-"

"_That_ Ice Queen? She's all anyone ever talked about in the academy! Oh man, it's gonna be so cool to fly with her!"

Yang sighed. "I wouldn't say that, but yeah, that's her. Anyway, our previous CAG bought it in our last engagement today, and she was expecting to replace him. But, it looks like you're going to be the replacement."

Ruby cocked her head. "How do you know?"

"Your rank. Lieutenants are squadron leaders, Ensigns are flight leaders, and enlisted personnel are simply pilots. Which leaves the Lieutenant Commander as-" {**A/N***}

"The CAG," Ruby finished, starting to sound a little worried. "But I'm not sure I'm ready to do something like that. I mean, I literally just got here from the academy."

"Well, 'long as you can keep Ice Queen under control, you should do just fine," Yang replied, giving Ruby a smile.

"I hope so," Ruby replied glumly. "Anyway, You wouldn't happen to know about how long the resupply is going to take, would you?"

Yang shook her head. "Nah, not my job to know. Should be done by tomorrow afternoon though."

* * *

><p>"I can't <em>believe<em> I lost out on the CAG post to some fresh-out-of-the-academy nobody!" Weiss practically shouted through the flight deck after Ruby had finished introducing herself to the other pilots. {**A/N***}

"Woah, calm down there, snow angel!" Jaune said, holding his hands up in an effort to defend himself.

"Please, Weiss," Pyrrha said, "I'm sure command has good reason for assigning her."

"I sincerely _doubt_ that. Seriously, she looks like she won't last a minute when the shooting starts. Not to mention she sounds like she'll just turn tail and run at the first sight of trouble."

"Hey, that's my sister you're dissing!" Yang shouted as she walked up to Weiss.

"Really?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

"Yeah," Yang replied, her hand beginning to curl into a fist, "So I recommend that you shut up before I do something that you're going to regret."

Weiss backed up a little. "Alright, fine, I'll give her a _chance_," she replied before muttering, "I certainly won't be expecting much though."

"Hey, ummm...Is there a problem over here?" Ruby asked as she walked over.

Weiss shot her a glare and stormed off.

"No, ma'am," Pyrrha replied. "Lieutenant Schnee just has some...concerns over your combat piloting abilities."

Ruby looked crestfallen. "Oh. Well, I guess I can kinda understand where she's coming from. I mean, I technically haven't had any actual combat experience yet."

"Eh, don't worry about her, sis," Yang said. "She 's always been a bit of a stuck up bitch."

"Yang!" Pyrrha interjected.

"Besides, that's what Black Flag was about. Giving you some combat experience without actually putting you in combat. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Guys, I said don't worry about it," Ruby sighed. "Besides, I heard we might have a mission tomorrow. I think we should focus on that."

* * *

><p>Weiss watched as Ruby stood at the front of the briefing room, looking over the many pilots who sat in around her wearing bored expressions.<p>

"All right, listen up everyone," She called out. "I know there are a few of you who doubt I can handle myself in a fight." Weiss, who was sitting at the very front of the room, rolled her eyes. "Well, you all will get to test that theory today. At thirteen-twenty hours today, we are going to be engaging a Pirate Nevermore class Carrier that has been raiding the Sigma Ceti trade route from the Voltana system. Reports indicate it has a full complement of fighters, so expect us to be numbered about three-to-two against." Ruby tapped a command on the table behind her and brought up a map of the area that the battle was going to take place in. "Plan will be to have Spartan, Valhalla, and Black squadrons engage the enemy bombers to prevent them from hitting the Beacon. If they manage to launch their torps, focus on those first and foremost. All remaining fighters will be tasked with engaging the enemy fighters to hopefully clear a path for our own bombers, or at least keep them away from theirs long enough for the Beacon's cannons to destroy the carrier itself. Any questions?"

Someone next to her raised his hand. "Yeah, whose _brilliant_ idea was this? I mean, I could come up with a better plan in my _sleep_!"

"It was the captain's idea," Ruby muttered, looking rather annoyed. "To be quite honest, I'd prefer to set up a skirmish line in front of the Beacon and hold position to intercept the enemy bombers as they approach, then engage the pirate fighters while our own bombers do their work on the carrier when the enemy bombers are down. But these are the orders we've been given. Anyone else?" Nobody else raised their hands. "All right then," Ruby finished. "Combat ops begin in about twenty minutes. Go ahead and get to your fighters."

Weiss got up from her seat and began to follow the others out of the room. They walked through the hallways, eventually making it through the doors to the hangar deck. As Weiss stepped through, she saw a new fighter among the group, a black-and-red Paladin with the words "Crescent Rose" around an image of the same flower. _That must be her fighter_, Weiss thought to herself. _She made a good choice. Though I do have to wonder why anyone would replace the particle cannons on the wings with gatling cannons. The limited ammo they have is going to force her to need to land during an extended engagement._ Weiss sighed. She was about to walk over to her own fighter when she saw the girl nearly fall off of the ladder leading into her cockpit, causing Weiss to roll her eyes. _Looks like she probably won't last long after all_.

* * *

><p>Ruby silently swore to herself as she nearly fell off the ladder leading to her fighter. <em>Really? NOW you do this to me?<em> she thought angrily. With a sigh, she resteadied her self on the ladder and climbed into the cockpit. She activated her HUD and gave her fighter's systems a quick check over before signaling the ground crew that she was ready to be placed in the launch tube. He fighter jolted slightly as it was towed away and into launch position. As soon as the motion stopped, she pulled up her fighter's command display and confirmed that all of the other fighters were ready to go. With a satisfied nod, she opened a communication line to the bridge.

"Bridge, this is Reaper," she called. "All fighters are ready for launch."

"Copy Reaper, we're jumping to the battlezone now," the captain's voice crackled through her helmet.

Suddenly, Ruby felt a massive pulling sensation as the Beacon activated its jump drive. almost as soon as that stopped, another voice, this time belonging to Commander Goodwitch, came through her helmet.

"Attention on the flight deck, this is the XO," she said, "Launch all fighters, repeat launch all fighters."

Ruby smiled slightly as she was thrown back in her seat as the ship's catapults launched her fighter into space. Ruby looked around at the other fighters, watching them form into squadrons and preparing to engage. Off in the distance, near an asteroid field, sat the hulking form of a pirate Nevermore class carrier. The twin flight pods hanging on the sides were already beginning to disgorge their fighters, and the ship was slowly beginning to creep towards the Beacon.

"All fighters, this is Reaper," Ruby called. "Form up into your squadrons and prepare to engage. Marking contacts for each squadron now. You are weapons free as soon as they're in range."

The other fighters formed up around her, letting her take the leading edge of the formation. Ruby's cockpit was completely silent aside from her breathing as the two waves of small craft approached each other. Suddenly, the space all around her burst to life with brilliant light as the two formations opened fire. Ruby flipped her fighter around with a growl as she picked out a target and began to pursue it. Her fighter weaved in and out of numerous smaller skirmishes as she pursued her prey. Finally, after leading her on a lengthy chase, Ruby had the target in range. She squeezed the trigger on her flight stick, cutting loose with a barrage of fire from her particle cannons, followed closely by a hail of bullets that spat out of the gatling cannons in what amounted to a solid wall of cannon fire. Ruby smiled with grim satisfaction as the pirate's ship simply fell apart underneath the barrage that Ruby had fired into it. As Ruby rolled her fighter through the debris clod, she started to look around for another target. when she saw a certain white fighter about to be in a very bad spot.

* * *

><p>"Ice Queen, you've got two...no...three Beowolf fighters on your tail!" a voice in her helmet called.<p>

"Shit," Weiss muttered as her fighter started to take several hits. "Can't lose them! Can I get some cover here?"

Her fighter shuddered a little from another hit. _Alert,_ the ship's synthesized voice spoke, _aft shields down to fifty percent_.

"Copy, this is Reaper," Ruby's voice crackled through her helmet, "I see 'em, coming in to engage now."

_Anyone but her!_ Weiss thought. _I'd really rather risk getting shot down than worrying that this idiot will run into me due to her inexperience._

Suddenly, a pair of explosions rocked her fighter. Weiss turned her head to look behind her, fully expecting to find the entire rear half of her fighter gone. Instead, she saw the debris of two fighters already sailing past her, and the third beginning to come apart, shredded by a hail of particle cannon and gatling gun blasts, as a fighter that could only belong to Ruby flew between Weiss and the one remaining fighter on her tail. Ruby's fighter swung around its prey, it's guns still trained even as Ruby moved in a completely different direction from where she was facing.

"Ice Queen, this is Reaper," Ruby said again as the last fighter completely fell apart, "You're all clear."

Weiss sighed gratefully. "Copy Reaper," she replied. "Looks like you might have a couple on you now. Need a hand?"

"Negative, I can handle 'em."

Weiss watched as Ruby's fighter flipped around faster than it should have been able to, while continuing to move in its previous direction, and let loose with another barrage of fire, this time shredding the two fighters that were pursuing Ruby. _So, it seems I was wrong about this girl_, Weiss thought to herself as she watched the impressive display. _I should probably apologize to her when we get back aboard._

"All squadrons that have completed your objectives, call off!" Ruby said. "Red Squadron, ready!"

Weiss looked at her sensors display to make sure all of her squadron's targets were down. With a satisfied nod, she replied, "White squadron, all targets neutralized."

* * *

><p>"White squadron, all targets neutralized." Weiss's voice crackled through Ruby's helmet.<p>

Yang spoke up next. "Yellow squadron, all of our targets bought it. What's next boss?"

Ruby thought for a moment before tapping several commands into her flight computer. Before long, a line appeared in her heads up display, showing throttle percentages, facings, and vectors of travel.

"All available fighters, I'm sending you a flight and engagement path," Ruby called. "Form up and move in."

"Attack the carrier?" Someone called. "Are you insane Reaper? Look at all of the flak that thing is putting out!"

"Just follow the flight plan," Ruby replied. "Trust me! You'll be fine. As soon as you get in range, start firing everything you've got at the carrier. Guns, missiles, I don't want anyone coming home with extra ammo. Come on!"

Ruby's fighter sped toward the carrier. The other pilot was right. The ship really was spitting out a lot of flak. Combined with the fact that Ruby's flight plan had them flying directly between the two broadsiding warships, the odds of survival were remote at best. Ruby just smiled and started to hum an old song to herself as she followed the flight path. As soon as she passed beside the carrier, she decoupled {**A/N***} her controls and flipped her fighter so that she would keep moving in her original direction, but still be able to fire at the carrier. She squeezed the trigger, and rounds began to hit the massive ship's shields causing them to glow a dim red. Just the fire from one fighter would never be enough to crack them, but soon, more fighters joined in, laying a veritable wall of fire into the pirate's shielding. Ruby hoped it would almost be like getting stung by a bee: one is but a minor annoyance. But one-hundred could very well kill. And kill it did, because after several long seconds of fire, the shield shimmered brightly, then suddenly disappeared, and the weapons fire started to chip away at the carrier's hull. Ruby watched as several heavy particle cannon blasts from the Beacon slammed into the hull of the carrier, tearing massive holes open in the ship. Eventually, the ship's structure simply couldn't take the punishment it was receiving any more, and it simply started to fall apart.

Ruby's helmet was filled by the cheers of her flightmates, as well as the congratulations of some who had doubted her plan to assist the Beacon would work out. Ruby smiled, knowing that she had just earned her place on the ship when suddenly her helmet crackled with a single transmission from the captain.

"Reaper, this is the captain," he said, sounding distinctly furious. "See me as soon as you are aboard."

Ruby paled. _That's not good_, she thought too herself.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, here's the story I teased in my latest chapter in A Lone White Rose.**

**First off, the story A/N's (in order of appearance):**

**Combat Information Center (CIC): Nerve center of the ship. Where the captain calls the shots.**

**Executive Officer (X.O.): Second-in-command on the ship**

**Commander of the Air Group (CAG): Leads the ship's fighters in combat.**

**R.F.S. : Remnant Federation Ship**

**Operation Black Flag: A simulated combat mission at the end of academy training in this universe. Basically, it puts recruits into a simulated combat situation that turns "real" but is in actuality still just a simulation. Designed to give the recruits combat experience without putting them in combat. Think "Ender's Game" in reverse.**

**Fighter compliments are divided into three groups in this universe: Flights (generally four fighters each), Squadrons (four flights each for sixteen fighters total), and Wings (the full compliment of fighters on a ship). The Beacon has 8 squadrons, so it holds 128 fighters.**

**Ranks in this universe are based solely on merit, no term of service required. So, if a fresh-out-of-the-academy individual proves to be an extremely competent starship captain, they're going to place him directly in the CIC. Flag officer ranks (those above Captain) must still be earned in the field, though also have no term-of-service.**

**Decoupled: Separated movement vector from ship facing. basically, you can move in one direction whist your nose faces in a completely different one.**

**Anyways with those done and over with, I actually had this idea while playing Star Citizen. If you love space games, then Google it. Seriously. You won't be disappointed.**

**Also, for those who are concerned that I'm abandoning A Lone White Rose, I'm not. Really. I'm not even CLOSE to done with that one yet. I still have at LEAST seven more chapters in the current arc alone (all of the currently released chapters are a part of the same arc), and I've still got two more major plot arcs after that after that. I just had this idea and I wanted to get it down on paper(?) before I lost it. It'll just be on rotation with this one for until one of them finishes. If they finish. yeah...**

**Anyways, up next, A Lone White Rose: Chapter 11: Snowed In!**

**Oh, and yes, the tune Ruby is humming when she goes to strafe the pirate carrier is totally Red Like Roses.**


	2. Ch 2: Revelations

Weiss was walking in front of the door leading to the captain's quarters when she heard the distinct voice of the captain yelling through the door.

"I don't know how they did it in the academy, Rose, but I will not have you wasting the lives of your fellow pilots so you can play hero!"

"But, sir," a much quieter voice, clearly belonging to Ruby, replied, "I had the entire maneuver calculated! As long as they followed the flight plan, they would have-"

"And what if they didn't follow your 'flight plan?'" A pause. "I rest my case."

"Well, sir, if I hadn't sent any of my pilots, the Beacon might have taken some hull damage. I mean, the shields were already down to about fifty percent when-"

"Quiet!" the captain yelled, even louder than before. "I will say this only once! You will toe the line on this ship, or you will be scrubbing the decks of the Remnant shipyards! Do I make myself perfectly, crystal, clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Ruby replied. Weiss almost thought she heard the girl crying.

"Good. Now get the hell out of my sight!"

Ruby stormed through the door and nearly ran into Weiss.

"Sorry Lieutenant, I didn't see you there," she said, her voice cracking a little. "Is there something you need?"

"No, ma'am," Weiss replied politely. "I was just on my way to my quarters."

"Very well," Ruby said as she turned to leave, but Weiss placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Ma'am, I feel I should apologize," Weiss started.

Ruby sighed. "You have nothing to apologize for, Lieutenant Schnee."

"Actually, I do," Weiss stated, looking down at her feet. "When I first heard that you were the CAG, I had immediately assumed that you would prove inept and get us all killed. Instead, you proved to not only be a capable combat pilot, but also managed to prove the fact that you can easily manage the entire wing of fighters on board. So, consequently, I do owe you an apology."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks Weiss. I really appreciate it. Especially after..." Ruby paused.

"Just so you know," Weiss said, "I'm not going to make this a habit."

Ruby laughed. "Don't worry, I've already heard that you have an image to uphold."

"Good," Weiss stated. "How much longer until your patrol shift?"

"Not until oh-eight-hundred tomorrow, why?"

"Well, it's custom aboard the Beacon for the ship's top scoring ace to buy a drink for the newest ace on the ship. And, if I recall, you got five kills during your last mission, correct?"

Ruby nodded. "Well, actually six, but yeah."

"So, then it seems I owe you a drink."

* * *

><p>Ruby threw back another drink and nearly fell over the bar in the officer's mess when she put the glass down.<p>

"Ruby, are you alright?" Weiss asked her.

"Yer really pretty," the she slurred in reply.

Weiss blushed a little. _Did she really mean that? I mean, she is drunk...But some are more truthful when they're drunk_."Ruby, you're drunk," Weiss said finally.

"And you're blushing," Ruby replied, her words still barely understandable. "You're so cute when you blush."

She and looked at the clock on the wall. _Twenty hundred. And her patrol shift is at oh-eight-hundred. It would be a good idea for her to get some sleep before tomorrow_. "Come on, let's get you back to your quarters before you do anything stupid."

Weiss rolled her eyes as she grabbed Ruby's arm and wrapped it around her shoulder. She stood from her seat and began to walk over to the doorway, followed by the stares of several other crew members. Weiss shot them each a glare, causing them to all look back to what they were doing, and Weiss walked through the door. Eventually, she managed to find her way to the section of the ship that held the officer's quarters. Spotting Ruby's last name, she walked over to the sliding door and placed Ruby's hand on the control, causing the door to hiss open automatically. Weiss looked around the room, which had several unpacked boxes, but was as of yet still undecorated.

"Hey, when did we get back to my quarters?" Ruby asked tiredly, as Weiss gently set the girl down on her bed.

"Just now," Weiss replied.

"Oh, thanks Weiss," she slurred as she closed her eyes with a smile. "You're really awesome."

_I should probably stay here with her,_ Weiss thought to herself as she found a single chair to sit down on. _At least until she's asleep. It is, afterall, partially my fault she's like this._

Weiss listened as Ruby's became slower and steadier. She found herself smiling as she watched the younger pilot drift off to sleep. Weiss settled back in the chair and closed her own eyes.

_I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stay here a little while longer just to make sure she's all right,_ she thought.

* * *

><p>Ruby winced as she woke up, feeling like someone had decided to cleave her head open with a battle-axe.<p>

_Ugh, I really need to learn to not drink that much,_ she thought to herself. _I will have to thank Weiss for getting me back here though._

Suddenly, she remembered what she had told Weiss just before they had left the officer's mess. _Aw, crap. That was probably the worst possible way for that to come out._

Ruby looked around her room until her eyes fell upon the aforementioned pilot. _Why is she still here? _Ruby thought to herself. Just as she finished that thought, however, Weiss's eyes began to flutter open.

"Ruby?" Weiss whispered as she looked at the black-and-red haired girl, "Are you alright?"

"Not really," she replied with a wince. "Why are you here, by the way? I mean, not that I mind, it's just..."

Weiss blushed. "Well, you were really drunk, and I helped you back to you room. I must have fallen asleep here."

"I remember, but thanks anyways," Ruby replied, giving her a weak smile. "What time is it?"

Weiss pulled out her scroll and looked at the clock on the display. "Oh-five hundred. You've still got a few hours before our patrol shift."

Ruby sighed. "Good, maybe I can get rid of this headache in that time."

"Out of curiosity, how much do you remember of last night?" Weiss asked after a brief pause.

"Heh, funny story about that," Ruby said, blushing a little. "I tend to remember almost everything I did while drunk."

"So, you remember..."

"Calling you pretty? Yeah..."

Weiss blushed again. "Did you actually mean it?"

Ruby sighed. "Well, I'm also generally honest when I'm drunk. So..."

"You actually meant it," Weiss confirmed.

"Yeah..."

Weiss sighed. "So that means that you're a lesbian?"

"Yup." Ruby chuckled a little before holding her head in a desperate attempt to stop the throbbing pain. "Not really how I wanted that to come out, but oh well. You don't...You don't mind, right?"

"Why would I?" Weiss asked. "You've already proven yourself as a capable combat pilot."

"Well, I know there's still some people out there who believe that I would start...coming on to them," Ruby said sadly.

"Ruby, let me put it this way for you:" Weiss stated. "The only thing that matters to me or anyone else on board is your skill. You've already proven yourself more than capable in that department. Furthermore, it would be hypocritical of me to think of you negatively for being gay, since I am as well."

"Y-You are?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes," she replied before chuckling a little. "I actually asked your sister out on a date a few days after I was assigned to the Beacon."

"Man, what a way to learn that she's straight, huh?" Ruby said with a laugh.

_She's certainly looking much better now,_ Weiss thought as she laughed a little as well. "Well, I suppose that's one way of looking at it." Weiss chuckled. "Anyway, you're starting to look a bit better."

"Feeling better too. Thanks, Weiss," Ruby replied, giving her a small smile. "Anyway, I should probably get up and get some breakfast before we have to go out on patrol. We're still pretty deep in pirate territory, so the _last_ thing I want to be worried about is my stomach growling while vaporizing pirates."

* * *

><p>Ruby yawned as she took one last look around the space outside of her cockpit. <em>Man, I would have thought that we'd at least see a fighter squadron here this deep into pirate controlled space.<em>

She keyed her comm link. "All active fighters, this is the CAG, stand by to return to the ship as soon as the next patrol is out." Her helmet echoed with a chorus of replies. With a sigh, Ruby leaned back in her seat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a brilliant flash of light, followed by several more. She flipped her fighter to face that direction.

"Oh shit," she muttered. "All units hearing this transmission, this is Reaper! Multiple pirate warships inbound! One Ursa-class cruiser, and three Taijitu-class destroyers!"

"Reaper, this is the Beacon, roger that. Launching all fighters now," the captain replied.

"Sir, with all due respect," Ruby said, "I don't think it's a good idea for us to stay here and fight. There's far too many of them."

"Your concern has been noted, Lieutenant Commander," he replied, anger lacing his voice.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "All fighters, form a skirmish line between the pirates and the Beacon. Range, twenty-hundred. Divert all power to your fore shields."

Ruby watched outside her canopy as all of the Beacon's fighters formed a wall between the incoming pirates and their home base. The front of each fighter began to shimmer a pale blue color as they directed all of their shield power to the side that would be facing the brunt of the pirate's fire. The lights from the pirate's engines slowly started to grow larger. Ruby closed her eyes and started to count silently to herself.

_Three...Two...One..._

"Fire!" she yelled into her helmet.

The space all around her blazed to life as bullets, particle gun shots, and laser blasts illuminated the night sky. The wave of pirate fighters flew past the line Ruby's fighters had formed and turned around. All at once, The fighters belonging to the Beacon flared their main engines and maneuvered away from each other, quickly turning around to engage their foes.

Ruby picked out a target that seemed to be turning a little sluggishly as compared to its comrades. She locked her fighter's speed to match her prey's, and cut loose with a barrage of fire across its nose. Suddenly, the fighter flipped around, presenting its well armed front to Ruby, causing her to have to quickly pull away. Soon, she was on the defensive, as the pirate followed her every move. Ruby threw her craft left, then right, and the pirate continued to follow her.

"Reaper, you've got one on your tail!" Weiss's voice crackled through her helmet.

"Yeah, I can see that, Ice Queen!" Ruby yelled back.

"Holy shit, I think that's Payday!" Yang said.

"Payday?" Ruby asked as she yanked her fighter into an evasive roll. "Who's Payday, Inferno?"

"Top pirate ace," Yang replied. "Real name's Roman Torchwick. Supposed to have somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty kills. Navy's actually got a pretty impressive bounty pool for whoever bags 'em. You might wanna get outta there, Reaper!"

Ruby smirked, even as more of the pirate's plasma cannon blasts sailed over her head. Thinking quickly, she strafed her fighter up slightly and pulled her craft into a sudden stop, causing her to start to feel light-headed. Even as her vision began to grey out, however, the pirate surged in front of her, and Ruby punched her fighter back up to combat speed. She followed the Pirate as he ducked and weaved through the battle as well as in to a small asteroid field that was in the area. After what felt like several minutes of pursuing the fighter, Ruby finally had the pirate in her sight. She depressed the trigger on her flight stick, and a barrage of gatling and particle cannon blasts surged away from her fighter, cleaving into the pirate's shields. They shimmered a brilliant red, and suddenly dropped, allowing Ruby's projectiles free rein to do their work on the pirate's hull until finally, the ship died in a fiery explosion.

"Holy shit. Did you just..." Yang started.

"Very good work, Reaper," Blake said calmly.

"Thanks, Shadow," Ruby replied as she turned her ship back to the fight.

"Attention all fighters on this net!" her helmet crackled suddenly. "Multiple torpedoes inbound on the Beacon! Any available units, respond immediately!"

Ruby looked at her sensors display and swore silently to herself when she saw all of her fellow pilots still locked in a tight battle with the pirates. She looked again for anyone who appeared to be in good shape before finally finding one unit of fighters.

"Black squadron, flight three, break off you current engagement and go help the Beacon out with those torps!" she called.

"Copy!"

"White squadron, flight one, pick up the slack left by Black three!"

"On it!" Weiss replied.

Ruby continued to weave through the fight, occasionally taking a shot at a pirate fighter here and there. Several moments later, she heard a frantic yell through her helmet.

"One torp got through!" one of the pilots she had sent to help the carrier called, "Beacon control, evade, evade!"

Ruby looked over to the warship, and watched begin to turn ponderously away in a desperate attempt to evade the torpedo. _Too late,_ she thought, just as the projectile slammed into the ship with a brilliant flash. When the blast cleared, there was significant damage to the hull, as well as a large hull breach spanning multiple decks. Her helmet was silent for what felt like a long time.

Finally, Commander Goodwitch spoke up. "Attention all hands, this is the X.O. The Captain has been killed in action, I repeat the Captain is down. I am hereby taking overall command of the Beacon and attached fighter units. Lieutenant Commander Rose, do you have any units that you can break off the fight?"

Ruby studied her sensors display. "I can pull two squadrons, why?"

"Stand by. Flight deck, launch all available bombers. Reaper, I want you to escort those bombers to the pirate warships so that we can end this engagement quickly and before we take any more damage."

"Yes ma'am," Ruby replied. "Red Squadron, White squadron, form up on me. All other fighter squadrons, fill in the gap."

Ruby flared her engines and sped toward the carrier and away from the main dogfight. She watched intently as the wave of bombers gently floated out of the landing bay on the bow of the ship and formed up for an attack.

"I hope you've got an idea for getting those bombers to the enemy fleet!" Weiss yelled through her helmet.

Ruby thought for a moment before an idea came to her. "All bombers, this is Reaper, maintain velocity at two-hundred meters per second. All fighters, form into an ellipsoid formation around the bombers, zoom to two-hundred meters per second, decouple, point your nose out away from the formation, and direct all power to your forward shields. If any pirates get closer than fifteen hundred, vape 'em. Otherwise, don't break formation until I say so!"

Ruby's placed her fighter at the head of the formation and pushed every last ounce of power she could into her forward shield, causing it to glow outside of her canopy. The formation slid implacably forward, obliterating any pirates that happened to get close. Finally after what felt like an eternity, they were finally right on top of the pirate fleet.

"All fighters, break now!" Ruby called. "All bombers, launch everything you've got!"

Ruby's fighter sped away from the formation of bombers and watched with grim satisfaction as the torpedoes launched from the bomber wing. Though the projectiles were slow, the bombers were more than close enough that their targets simply could not maneuver away from or intercept the torpedoes. They slammed into the hulls of the pirates, causing brilliant explosions as their antimatter warheads annihilated their targets. When the blasts cleared, nothing remained of the pirate fleet aside from several clusters of debris.

"Beacon control, this is Reaper, all hostile warships have been eliminated," Ruby called.

"Affirmative," Commander Goodwitch replied. "Once you have finished with the enemy fighters, return to base."

* * *

><p>Ruby stood near the fighter launch tube, where a coffin sat as though it were about to be launched out, wearing her formal dress uniform. It was black as the sky just beyond the hull of the ship, with gold trimming. On her shoulder shimmered her rank insignia, though this set was made of metal, as opposed to the cloth of her regular uniform's set. Ruby sighed as she took her place next to the other senior officers of the Beacon.<p>

"Attention on deck!" the commander of the Beacon's marine complement called.

Commander Goodwitch stepped forward. As she did so, all of the other personnel who had gathered bowed their heads, and Ruby followed suit.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," Commander Goodwitches voice rang out clear as a bell in the silent hangar deck. "Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all else, infinite in distance and unbound by death." The coffin slid through the tube and out into the inky blackness of space as Commander Goodwitch finished. "I release your soul."

The gathered personnel flashed a parade-perfect salute, then slowly started to file out. Ruby continued to stand there, letting out a sad sigh as she did so.

"Hey," a voice called from behind her, causing Ruby to jump a little.

"Weiss, hey," Ruby replied as she turned around, "Sorry, didn't hear you there."

"Are you all right?" Weiss asked.

Ruby shook her head. "I just feel like I could have done more, ya know? Maybe if I had sent another flight, or if I had been watching more closely at the Beacon's situation I could have-"

"Stop," Weiss said, "You did everything you could have done. You know it, Commander Goodwitch knows it, the rest of the crew knows it, and _I_ know it."

"You know it?" Ruby asked, her head tilted slightly.

Weiss blushed a little. "Yeah, I do. You've more than proven yourself. Eliminating Payday shows that you do truly know what you're doing here. Anyway, come on. We're going to be heading back to drydock for a little while because of the damage we suffered here, and to pick up our new captain."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, okay," she replied. Weiss turned to walk away, but Ruby grabbed her shoulder to stop her "Hey, thanks again for helping back to my quarters last night."

Weiss rolled her eyes, even as a smile began to appear on her face. "You may be a good pilot, but you can be such a dunce sometimes."

"You can be such a dunce sometimes...?"

Weiss looked furious. "You can be such a dunce sometimes _ma'am_."

Ruby laughed. "Copy that, Lieutenant."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: 43 follows, 20 favorites, and six reviews in _five_ days. For the _first_ chapter. Damn. I just...wow...Seriously guys, you all are awesome. I _really_ was not expecting that level of support for this story. I mean...I would have been happy with a sixth of the following this story has already. Combine that with the fact that Lone White Rose is near the _top_ of page six of the most followed stories on this site? Really guys, you all are awesome.**

**Anyways, story stuff:**

**Yeah, Ruby and Weiss already know that they're gay. Honestly, I don't feel that this story could add much in that department without it feeling forced. Is it a bit of a cop-out? Yeah, but I'd rather have that than try to force something I don't really think would work well for the direction I'm taking this story. Plus, this has a bonus: More White Rose moments! What's not to love?**

**Also, yeah, Yang's straight here. No Bumbleby for you. Sorry, but once again, I think it would just feel forced given the direction I want this one's plot to go.**

**Anyways, with all that said, be on the look out for the next chapter to A Lone White Rose!**


	3. Ch 3: Shore Leave

Ruby sat and stared at a small picture on her desk. In the photo, she stood beside her mother, who was standing next to her fighter wearing her flight suit with a broad smile on her face, while a young Ruby sat in the cockpit, with her mom's helmet hanging at an odd angle on her head. Ruby smiled an laughed a little at the sight.

_Ah, good times_, Ruby thought to herself.

Suddenly, her door chimed, snapping her out of her reverie and causing her to sigh slightly.

"It's open!" she called.

"Ma'am?" Weiss said as she walked through the door. "We've arrived at the Vale Shipyards."

Ruby sighed again. "Thanks, Lieutenant Schnee," she replied.

"Of course, ma'am," Weiss replied politely as she turned to leave.

"Hey," Ruby called after her, "Umm...Do you mind walking with me to the airlock?"

Weiss nodded. "Sure. I imagine you're still kind of trying to get your bearings around here anyway, ma'am."

Ruby stood from her chair and followed Weiss out. "Y'know, you can just call me Ruby when we're not on duty," she said quietly.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "That's not exactly regulation, you know."

"Yeah, but neither are some of the mods I've got on my fighter," Ruby replied before perking up suddenly. "Oh! Like the gatling cannons! I've modded them to be coilguns instead of the usual chemical propellants, so they pack a lot more punch. Or the maneuvering thrusters, which get about twenty-percent more thrust each."

"How much did you modify your fighter, exactly?" Weiss asked.

"Quite a lot," Ruby replied. "About the only thing I didn't touch was the flight control system. The Paladin's stock system is pretty much the best out there."

"You do realize that my family's company produces the Paladin, right?"

Ruby nodded. "Schnee Aerospace, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you're in line to take over the company after your father retires, correct?"

Weiss shook her head. "No, I actually deferred to my sister, Winter, when I decided to join the military."

"Why? I mean, you could have been...like...the richest girl in the Federation!"

"Because," Weiss replied, starting to look a little angry, "I was tired of having to do only what my father wanted me to do. Plus, Winter was always more cut out for the business world than I am."

Ruby and Weiss stepped into the airlock together. _equalizing local pressure with exterior atmospheric conditions,_ the ship's computer called calmly as their surroundings hissed lightly.

"Geez, sorry, princess. All I meant was-"

"Well, look who it is," a soft voice came from near by. "Reaper herself."

Ruby turned over towards where the voice came from. Standing before her was a woman who had similar hair to her own, though slightly longer and more symmetrical, with the same shimmering silver eyes, and was clothed in a full military uniform with a Lieutenant Commander's insignia on her shoulders.

"Mom!" Ruby shouted, and ran over to hug her.

"Hello, Ruby," the woman replied politely as she returned the hug. "It's been far too long."

"Oh! Mom, this is Lieutenant Weiss Schnee," Ruby said as she broke out of the hug. "Weiss, this is my mom, Lieutenant Commander Summer Rose, the CAG on board the Haven."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant Schnee. I've heard a lot about you and your skill in the cockpit," Summer said with a slight nod to Weiss.

"Same to you, ma'am," Weiss replied with a salute. "I was not aware that Ruby was your daughter. She is a very capable pilot, and an excellent CAG."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from her," she said as she smiled at Ruby, making the younger Rose blush slightly. "Anyway, the Haven is due to set out in about an hour, so I need to get back aboard before Captain Ironwood starts looking for me. I'll see you soon, Ruby, and it was nice to finally meet you, Weiss."

"Same to you, ma'am. I hope to be able to work with you some day."

Ruby hugged her mom again. "See you soon, mom."

Both Weiss and Ruby watched as Summer walked away.

"So, why didn't you tell me that your mother was the top ace in the entire Navy?" Weiss asked as she and Ruby resumed walking.

"Well, you never asked," Ruby replied.

"Why do you act so childish all the time?"

"I do not act childish!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yes, you do."

"No, I don't!"

"Dolt."

"Princess!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go to the surface. It'll be a few days before the damage to the Beacon is repaired."

* * *

><p>"Man, it's been <em>so<em> long since I set foot on the surface of a planet," Ruby said as she walked off of the shuttle and stretched.

"What about when you were in flight school?" Weiss asked.

"I went to the Signal Deep Space Naval Training Academy," Ruby replied. "Emphasis on 'deep space' there, by the way. The station's at least five light years from the nearest habitable world."

"You went to Signal?"

Ruby nodded as she walked into the customs line. "Yeah, why?"

"I actually attended Signal as well when I was still a recruit," Weiss said as she walked up behind Ruby.

"Didn't know that," she replied as she pulled out her ID and showed it to the official, who simply nodded and let her past. "I had heard they renovated the station about a year ago. What was it like there?"

Weiss showed her ID to the customs official. "Well, for one, the station looked much older. The patch jobs that had been done over the years to keep it held together were really showing, it had quite a few exposed circuit panels, and the station defense grid was so outdated that it would have been all but useless against anything larger than a destroyer."

"Yikes," Ruby said with a wince as the official gave Weiss a nod. "Well, you'd be happy to know that it's improved quite a bit now."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Weiss said. "Now come on, it's starting to get late. We should probably get going before it gets dark."

"What makes you say that?" Ruby asked as they walked through the spaceport's exit.

"The capital city tends to be...troublesome during the night. All manner of thugs and other lowlifes prowl the streets. We'd be much safer if we find somewhere to stay for the duration of our shore leave."

Ruby looked down at her boots. "Well...minor issue with that."

"Let me guess, you have nowhere to stay?" Ruby simply stood there continuing to look at her boots, causing Weiss to roll her eyes. "Fine, you can stay with me at my apartment in the city while we're here. Just don't make me regret it."

* * *

><p>Ruby sat up slowly on the couch, her neck feeling extremely stiff thanks to her sleeping there. Looking around, she saw the door to Weiss's room still closed, indicating that the other pilot was not awake yet. Ruby stood with a sigh and walked over to Weiss's refrigerator.<p>

_I wonder what she has to eat_, Ruby thought to herself as she reached for the handle before retracting her hand. _Then again, maybe she wouldn't take too kindly to me eating her food._

Ruby walked over to the window and looked out to the still dark street. _Heh, I guess being on a ship can really mess with your internal clock_, she thought to herself as she brought a chair over and sat down.

She stared out the window, watching as vehicles would occasionally pass by, illuminating the area with their lights. Ruby was so focused on watching the early morning occurrences outside that she jumped a little when she heard a door open behind her, causing her to glance over her shoulder.

"Oh, you're awake," Weiss muttered tiredly.

"Yeah," Ruby replied with a chuckle. "Military life'll do that to ya. Much as I want to sleep in, I really just can't anymore."

"Indeed," Weiss said as she walked into her kitchen area. "Would you like anything for breakfast?"

"Well," Ruby paused. "What do you have?"

Weiss opened the door and looked into her fridge before pulling back a little and shutting the door. "Suffice to say I have nothing good."

"What could be worse the food on the ship?" Ruby asked as she stood up and walked next to Weiss. She opened the door and stared in. "Ummm...Yeah, never mind. How long has it been since you've been here?"

"Long enough for lettuce to be able to grow hair," Weiss stated.

"I...Ummm...I don't think that's lettuce."

Weiss paused. "Even worse. Well, anyway, I'd rather get something to eat instead of staring at food that has been in there so long that it's mold has mold. Come on, i know a place that gives free food to military personnel."

* * *

><p>"Man, you were right," Ruby said as she pushed her empty plate forward. "Those pancakes were delicious."<p>

"Ren's family actually owns this place," Weiss said as she pushed her own plate forward.

"Ren? You mean Dragon, leader of Shinobi squadron?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes. That's why they give free meals to the military."

Ruby and Weiss stood from their seats and walked out of the restaurant. "So, did you hear that pirate attacks have been getting more and more frequent over the past few months?" Ruby asked as they walked along the street.

Weiss nodded. "I have. They still seem to be too random for this to be anything more than a brief occurrence, though."

Ruby thought for a moment. "I'm not so sure, though. They've been hitting closer and closer to the core worlds. Not to mention that several ships from the third and sixth fleets were seen participating in some of the attacks."

"Those sightings were never confirmed though."

"Doesn't change the fact that there seems to be something big brewing though."

"Maybe, Weiss replied with a shrug. "We're just a couple of pilots assigned to a warship, though. Only thing we can really do is go wherever our cap-ship goes, and see what's going on there."

Ruby nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

><p>"Ma'am?" someone called from behind her. "I have news from the latest engagement."<p>

Cinder turned around to stare the the green-haired girl. "Yes, Emerald?"

"Well, Torchwick, along with all of the ships you gave him and his raiders, were destroyed during the fight," Emerald replied, looking nervous.

"I see," Cinder replied as she turned back to the window and watched the dying star outside. "I don't suppose you have any good news for me?"

"Well, the R.F.S. Beacon was damaged during the fight. It looks like the ship will be out of action for about a week," Emerald replied, walking up next to Cinder.

"Very good. Was there anything else?"

"The new warship being constructed by the Federation will be complete in a few months. I recommend we move forward with the plan before that happens."

Cinder gave Emerald a wicked smile. "Have a little faith, Emerald," she purred. "By the time our plan is in action, there will be nothing they can do to stop us."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wild Plot appeared! Wait. Wrong IP. s***. Oh well. You get the idea. Sorry for the shorter chapter, as well as the fact that there wasn't any real "action" scenes with Ruby and co. tearing Pirate ships that have been named for Grimm into tiny, little, bite-sized, pieces. but this one is more of a set up for the main plot of the story. Which will be coming soon(tm). And, don't worry, it will be awesome. I hope. Could actually end up being terrible. Eh, that would be about par for the course really. 'Tis a sad life I lead. Oh well. Win some, lose the rest I guess. Is that the right saying? What was I doing again?**

**Honestly speaking, the hardest part of this story to write is actually the "idle" dialog between the action scenes, because it's really tough to keep Weiss acting...Weissy (that's a word) without getting her kicked out of the Navy for insubordination.**

**Anyways, watch for Chapter 13 to A Lone White Rose coming hopefully by Tuesday! Next stop: Weiss's Parents!**


	4. Ch 4: Falling Petals

"Captain on deck!" Commander Goodwitch called as the new captain stepped up to the podium that had been placed in the hangar deck. He had short, grey hair, brown eyes that seemed to watch your every move, and a face that was filled with a mix of emotions, from sadness to pride.

"I'll...Keep this brief," Captain Ozpin called, his voice ringing out clear and true through the hangar. "You are on this ship because you among the best men and women in the Navy. I am here to tell you that your best is not enough. Your skill has carried you far, but it will not carry you all the way. You must constantly strive to be better that your best was yesterday. If you do not, you will surely fall. You are the only one who can do this, so it is up to you to take the first step. Dismissed."

Ruby looked at her sister as Ozpin walked away.

"Well, that was...bracing," Weiss said with a wince.

"Anyone else think he didn't seem all there?" Yang said.

"He did seem a little distracted," Ruby said as she turned to follow the others out of the hangar deck. "Come on, we're going to be shoving off soon, so we should probably get ready. From what I heard, we're starting rotation with the Bravo shift for this deployment, so Blake, you and Yang may want to go ahead and get to your fighters."

Blake nodded as she turned to walk to the pilot's locker room. "Of course, ma'am. Have you heard where the Beacon is going to be on patrol?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, sorry. I guess we'll find out when we jump."

* * *

><p>Ruby rubbed her forehead as she closed one of the panels on her fighter when suddenly the intercom blared.<p>

"Attention all hands, this is the captain speaking," Captain Ozpin called, "We are going to be patrolling the Vega system, as there have been a number of attacks reported there over the past week. Stand by for phase jump {**A/N**} on my mark."

Ruby sighed and gripped one of the landing skids on her fighter. _I hate this part_, she thought with a grimace.

Suddenly she was overcome by a massive pulling sensation, as if she were being pulled towards both the front and back of the ship at the same time. Shaking her head as it stopped, the intercom blared again. "Bravo shift on duty. All other shifts, on stand by."

Ruby let out a sigh and went back to tuning her fighter. She climbed on top of the craft and pulled off a panel on one of the maneuvering thrusters.

Just as she was about to continue her work, a voice behind her called, "I thought I'd find you here," startling her just enough to fall from her fighter and to the deck.

Ruby turned around to see Weiss standing behind her trying to hold back a laugh.

"Not funny, Weiss!" Ruby said with a frown. "You nearly killed me!"

Weiss laughed. "Be more careful next time, you dolt."

Ruby sighed as she stood up and climbed on to her fighter again. "Was there something you needed?"

Weiss sighed as she slowly stopped laughing. "Just looking for you, ma'am. I thought you might need to take some time and relax."

"But this is relaxing!" Ruby protested.

"Why don't you come on down to the officer's mess? Ren is making pancakes."

"Nah, sot too much to do still," Ruby said as she leaned in to take a closer look at the thruster.

"Not even if I offer you another drink?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and turned to look at Weiss. "You _do_ remember what happened nearly two weeks ago when you did that, right, right?"

Weiss blushed. "You said I was, and I quote, 'really pretty,' then I had to carry you back to your quarters and wound up sleeping there with you."

"My point."

Now it was Weiss's turn to roll her eyes. "Whatever. You're going to burn out if you spend all of your free time working on your fighter. Besides, haven't you made enough modifications to it?"

"Always more I can work on though," Ruby quipped as she pulled out a few wires and stared at them intently. "Besides, in that last engagement before we went on shore leave, the number three maneuvering thruster wasn't putting out as much thrust as I needed it to, so I wanted to take a look at it."

Weiss climbed up beside her. "Here, let me take a look," she said.

Weiss leaned in closer to the thruster and started to look at the complicated arrangement of parts. "Ah, I think I see your problem. You've got the thruster itself working just fine, but your coolant system isn't hooked up properly. Without that, you ship computer is artificially limiting your thrust to prevent any damage from overheating." Weiss shifted a pipe, and twisted it in place once she had it where she wanted. "There, should be fixed now."

Ruby leapt down from the fighter. "Thanks Weiss!" she called. "I thought I had the coolant set up correctly. Guess I kinda messed that up, huh?"

Weiss shrugged as she jumped down beside Ruby. "Common mistake. The first several prototypes of the Paladin, which were hand-assembled, had the same problem."

"Well, thanks all the same," Ruby said with a smile. "Glad to know the second most beautiful girl on the ship is back in fighting shape."

"And who might I ask is the most beautiful?" Weiss asked.

Ruby just smiled at Weiss and walked away.

"Dunce," Weiss muttered under her breath as she started to blush, before following Ruby.

* * *

><p>Ruby yawned as she sat back in her fighter and waited for Black and Yellow squadrons to launch. <em>Two weeks patrolling this sector so far and not even a single pirate fighter has shown up<em>. she thought to herself with a bored frown.

"Hey, Ice Queen?" she called "Is every patrol this _boring_?"

She could almost hear Weiss rolling her eyes. "You _clearly_ have no idea what shipboard life is like, Reaper," she replied. "Ever heard the saying 'the military is ninety-five percent boredom and five-percent sheer terror?"

"No?"

"Well, guess what? This part is the ninety-five percent. You're just going to have to get used to it."

"All right," Yang's voice echoed in Ruby's helmet, "You two lovebirds can go ahead and land."

"Yang!" Ruby yelled.

"What?"

"Ugh, never mind. Red squadron, White squadron, form up for landing. Beacon control, this is Reaper. Red and White squadrons requesting landing clearance."

"You're all clear Reaper. Welcome home."

Ruby sighed heavily and lowered her fighters landing skids as she lined up with the cavernous landing bay. She felt the craft shudder gently as it landed on one of the elevators mounted in the deck of the ship. She unbuckled her restraints, and looked around behind her to watch the other craft follow her down. As the last fighter touched down to the deck, she felt her own craft shudder again as it was lowered down into the hangar. As soon as she stopped moving, Ruby popped open the canopy and jumped out. She walked across the deck to where Weiss was just getting out of her fighter.

"What do you need, ma'am?" Weiss asked as she speed out of her cockpit.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing," Ruby replied with a smile. "And, I already told you that when we're not on duty, you can just call me Ruby."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Come on, I'm headed down to the officer's mess for lunch, if you want to join me."

"Sounds like fun!" Ruby replied as she and Weiss walked towards the hangar deck's exit.

The two pilots walked in silence for a few minutes before Weiss spoke up.

"Have you heard where we're going to be going when we're done patrolling the Vega asteroid belt?" she asked.

Ruby nodded. "Vega six. We'll be there for a week. Arctic world. Atmosphere is breathable, but it is beyond freezing there. A number of ships have been reported to have disappeared there."

"How many ships have disappeared?"

Ruby thought for a moment "At least one civilian freighter and a cruiser."

Weiss shook her head. "Where do they keep going?"

"Beats me," Ruby said with a shrug. "If I knew, they wouldn't be disappearing anymore. Oh well. Only thing we can do now is just wait until next week."

Ruby and Weiss continued walking for several more minutes before they finally arrived.

"Hey Weiss, can I ask you something?" Ruby requested as they sat down.

Weiss simply replied with a nod.

"Okay...ummm...What would you say if...hypothetically...I asked you out?"

Weiss started to cough heavily. "Well, aside from nearly _choking_ on my lunch," she said as she recovered. "Why would you ever want to go out with someone like me?"

"Well," Ruby replied as she stared at her own food. "Yeah, you can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but you're also very beautiful, smart, and you're an excellent pilot. I'm not sure why you don't have guys jumping you everywhere you go."

Weiss blushed. "Well, most people are actually intimidated by me and my family's reputation. Most people don't feel...worthy of my attention and those that do tend to be the type of people I try to avoid." She sighed heavily before giving Ruby a sly smile. "Well, anyway, to answer your original question, I _might_ just say yes. Depends on how I'm feeling at the time."

Ruby laughed. "I'll keep that in mind, then."

Weiss and Ruby ate in silence for several minutes before Weiss spoke up. "Ruby, I have a...personal question for you, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead. I'm an open book," Ruby replied.

"Well, it's about you and Yang..."

"You want to know how we're related, right?" Weiss nodded. "Pretty simple really. We...share the same dad. He was a bomber pilot assigned to the carrier R.F.S. Aura. That's where he met Yang's mom, who was an engineer on the ship. She died giving birth to Yang. Our dad was really broken up about it. It took him about a year before he recovered. That was when he met my mom, back when she was still just an ensign. She had just been reassigned to the Aura. He died during a battle with a pirate carrier about three months before I was born. Anyways, long story short, both Yang and I grew up as spacer kids raised by my mom, and here we are today."

"I'm," Weiss paused. "sorry to hear about your father and Yang's mother. I was not aware that had happened."

Ruby shrugged. "It's all right. Yang was pretty broken up about it when she found out a while ago, but we both have had plenty of time to heal. It does feel good to talk about it though."

"Glad I could help," Weiss replied with a small smile. "I know a can be, as you said, a pain, but I do consider you a friend."

"Or maybe more," Ruby said with a light laugh.

Weiss simply rolled her eyes as her face became tinted with a light red.

* * *

><p>"We're wasting our time," the Beacon's helm officer called from his station. "We've spent four weeks in the Vega sector now, and we haven't seen <em>any <em>sign of pirate activity."

"Six civilian and two military ships have gone missing here in that time," the sensors officer replied from her post. "Something had to have happened to them."

"Yeah, but we've seen absolutely nothing from the ships that disappeared. Not even a trace of the ship's black boxes. Besides, we've already passed the location where most of the ships vanished, and we didn't find anything."

"Look, all I'm saying is...Wait a minute...Got a new vessel on long range sensors...Doesn't match any known signatures, but the size class would put it on par with a battle-carrier. Captain? What are your orders?"

Captain Ozpin sighed. "Reaper, this is Beacon Control, do you read?"

* * *

><p>"Reaper, this is Beacon control, do you read?" Ruby's helmet crackled.<p>

Ruby sighed. "I hear you Beacon control, go ahead."

"We detected a new contact at the edge of our sensor radius. I need you to go and check it out," Captain Ozpin said.

"Aye, sir," Ruby replied. "Ice Queen, form up on me."

"On my way," Weiss replied.

Ruby watched outside her canopy as the shimmering form of Weiss's fighter flew up next to Ruby's and matched her speed. The pair of craft flew in silence for a minute before Ruby finally spoke up.

"Private channel Ice Queen?" she called.

"Private channel, go ahead," Weiss replied.

"Weiss, I was wondering, the next time we're planet-side, would you like to go-"

"Hold that thought, I just got a lot of new contacts coming from that ship that the Beacon pointed us to," Weiss interrupted.

"Yeah, I'm seeing them too," Ruby replied as she studied her sensors display. "IFF is registering them as..." she paled. "Beacon control, this is Reaper! Numerous pirate fighters inbound from the ship!"

"Affirmative. Stand by, we're scrambling fighters," Ozpin replied.

"Ice Queen, come on, let's get back to the ship and form up with the rest of the wing."

Ruby and Weiss flew nearly wing tip-to-wing tip as they sped back to the Beacon. Ruby watched as a number of small ships surged away from the the ship. When they were finally in position, Ruby and Weiss flipped their fighters around and joined the formation.

"All fighters, this is Reaper," Ruby called, "Form into a skirmish line and hold just outside the Beacon's flak envelope. Fire at will as soon as the pirates are in range."

Ruby's helmet echoed with a chorus of affirmatives. She gritted her teeth as she rubbed her finger along the trigger of her flight stick, watching as the distance measurement on her selected target counted down. Finally, the counter flashed green, and Ruby flashed a grim smile as she depressed the trigger, causing her fighter to begin to shake a little under the recoil of its weapons. All around her, the other fighters assigned to the Beacon followed her example, and soon space was alive with the flashes of various weapons. The pirate fighter turned quickly to try and avoid the barrage that was being thrown at them, and several of them collided, resulting in a series of brief explosions.

"All fighters, break now!" Ruby called.

The formation broke apart as the Beacon's fighters surged forward. As Ruby wove around the dogfight, occasionally firing a burst of gatling cannon and particle gun fire at an enemy, she saw several military-grade fighters. Suddenly, there was the distinct bright flash of a missile passing by Ruby's canopy. She watched it for a moment as it followed another fighter, this one painted a shimmering white.

* * *

><p>"Weiss, you've got a missile incoming!" Ruby's voice yelled through Weiss's helmet.<p>

Weiss grunted as she pulled her fighter into a tight turn in an attempt to evade the deadly projectile.

"I can see that you dolt!" she yelled back as her vision began to tint grey due to the strain the turn was putting on her body.

"Pop flares!"

"Can't! I'm out!"

Weiss looked back and saw the projectile continuing to creep closer and closer. Suddenly, another fighter sped between Weiss's craft and the missile, and the projectile broke off its pursuit, choosing instead to follow the target that was generating more heat. Weiss turned her fighter to follow where the missile had gone, and saw it pursuing Ruby now. She watched with horror as the missile exploded against the shields of Ruby's fighter, followed closely by a barrage of fire from a nearby pirate fighter, which began to stitch its way up towards Ruby's cockpit. Nearby, Yang's fighter turned and opened fire on the Pirate, slamming a barrage of neutron cannon and particle gun blasts into the pirate's fighter causing it to explode.

"Reaper, are you alright?" Weiss called worriedly.

"I-gah...I've...been better," Ruby replied, strain obvious in her voice. "My main thrusters are out, I've only got the bottom side maneuvering thruster still working, and even that one has stopped articulating. I'm also-hnn...I'm...also drifting towards the planet. I've only got about fifty seconds before I hit the atmosphere."

"Reaper, punch out!" Yang yelled.

"Can't. One-agh...One of the rounds punched through the ejection lever," Ruby struggled out. "Also took one myself. Guess It's-ah...Guess It's a good thing these flight suits are both full EVA rated and self-sealing eh?" she gave a pained laugh.

"Dammit, Reaper this is no time for jokes!" Weiss said, beginning to tear up.

"When I get into Vega six's atmosphere, I'm gonna try to pull Crescent Rose into a glide. Not gonna be able to communicate though. To much interference from the magnetic field. My distress beacon might be able to punch through the interference though."

"Ruby, please..." Yang begged.

"Don't worry guys," Ruby strained. Weiss could almost see the pilots face pulled into a brave smile even as she spoke. "I'll be fine. Oh, and Weiss? I just wanted to tell you that I l-" Ruby's transmission broke off into static.

"Reaper? This is Ice Queen," Weiss choked out, "Come in. Reaper, come in please."

"All units, this is Captain Ozpin, we have additional pirate warships jumping in, and our position is compromised. We are falling back. All fighters, return to base. Repeat, all fighters, RTB. Emergency landings authorized."

"Ruby...please...don't leave." Weiss whispered. There was no response.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Story notes:**

**Phase drive (phase jump): "Phases" a hole between two parts of space, allowing the ship to move through without completely breaking physics. How does it work? Well, to quote Michael Jones: Shut up. Don't ask questions.**

**Anyways, MOAR DRAMA! What happens next? Does Ruby survive, or will she freeze to death alone on the icy cold surface of Vega VI? You'll all just have to find out when I post the next chapter after I finish and post the next chapter of A Lone White Rose!**

****Also, I'm doing a lot of time skips in this story, even mid-chapter, as you saw. This entire entry takes place over the course of about four weeks total, because, as Weiss said, the military is mostly being bored out of your skull with extremely brief but intense moments of absurd terror. Never been in the military personally, but I have a few friends who are.****

**Look out for Chapter 14 of A Lone White Rose within a few days!**


	5. Ch 5: White Noise

She tightened her grip on the pistol as she crouched low in the bushes. When a lone person walked past her hiding place, she slowly stood and crept up behind them, before aiming and pulling the trigger.

"Sorry, friend," Ruby said as she walked towards a nearby pillar of smoke. "But I need to get some parts from that crashed pirate fighter, and you were sorta in the way."

Ruby crept along further until she finally found where the pirate fighter had crashed. She climbed on top of the wreck and lifted open an already broken panel to look at the electronics inside of the crashed ship.

"Gotta find this thing's distress beacon," Ruby muttered to herself as she dug through the fighter.

The inner workings were a jumbled mass, a far cry from the slightly chaotic, but still organized layout of her Paladin. Silently swearing at herself for taking so long, Ruby began to hurry when she heard a shout behind her.

"Hey! You! Get down from there and put your hands up!"

Ruby sighed as she once again prepared to reach for the pistol holstered at her hip.

* * *

><p>"Look, captain, I <em>understand<em> that she's your best pilot, but my recommendation still stands."

Captain Ozpin sighed as he stared at the image of Admiral Qrow on the screen in his quarters.

"With all due respect, sir, " he said, "She's a lot more than just my best pilot. She also shows promise as a possible candidate for commanding that new ship being constructed in Shadow of Light. Not to mention the fact that she _is_ your niece."

Admiral Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Oz, it's been two days, and there's been no distress beacon detected. That leaves the following options: One: she's dead. As much as it pains me to say it, that is the most likely case, as going by the report you gave, likely could not have pulled her fighter into a glide. Two: She's been captured. If she has been captured, then they'll have already taken her back to their base, wherever that is. Judging by the reports we have of people that we've rescued, the things they'll do to her there...It'll take her years to mentally recover to the point where she would be able to lead a normal life, let alone continue her military career."

"Finally, the last option is that she's alive, still on planet, and her beacon was damaged. Now, a standard fighter distress beacon would be detectable through Vega six's magnetic field, though you wouldn't be able to get a pinpoint read on it. Knowing my niece, I imagine she'd probably be able to find a way to repair it. Even still, the pirates still have five warships in that sector. It would be suicide for you to jump your ship there if you remain a safe distance from the planet's gravity well," Admiral Qrow sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Captain, but-"

"Sir, we just picked up a distress beacon coming from Vega six," Commander Goodwitch called over the intercom in Ozpin's quarters.

"Sorry, Admiral," Ozpin said with a light nod. "Go ahead, Glynda."

"Well, the signal's being scattered across a wide area by the planet's magnetic field, at least ten-thousand square kilometers. Also, the broadcast pattern matches standard Remnant Federation Navy protocols, but I'm detecting a pirate IFF attached to the signal."

"And you think it could be a trap?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Glynda replied. "It could be, based on the IFF, but the protocols used in the transmission were an exact match for Navy standard. No pirate transmission has been able to match our protocols that exactly. Furthermore, we all know how handy Lieutenant Commander Rose is when it comes to equipment, so she may have had to repair her distress beacon with parts from a pirate fighter."

"Hmm...What's your opinion, sir?" Ozpin said as he turned back to the monitor.

Qrow sighed. "Well, it's your ship, and she's your pilot. I still would recommend against doing this, though if you wish to attempt a rescue, you have my support. If any ships become available, and if you need the assistance, I'll send them your way."

"Thank you, sir," Ozpin said with a curt nod as he closed the channel. With a sigh, he tapped the intercom. "Glynda, could I speak with you privately? I have a plan to respond to that distress beacon."

* * *

><p>"Come on, Weiss, you can't keep beating yourself up over this," Yang said as she sat down next to the white-haired pilot in the officer's mess.<p>

Weiss shook her head. "It's my fault she went down. If I had been more careful with my flares, she wouldn't have had to take that missile for me," she sighed heavily. "Besides, I'm not sure why you're taking this so well. She's your sister after all. Or do you not really care about her?"

"First of all," Yang said, visible anger beginning to boil up in her eyes. "Say _anything _like that again, and I'll push you out of the nearest airlock myself. Second, I know my sister. If she says she'll pull her fighter into a glide, that's exactly what's going to happen. Her distress beacon was probably damaged in the fight is all. She'll signal us as soon as she can."

"How can you be so sure? She sounded like she was pretty badly hurt during her last communication."

Yang turned Weiss to face her and gave her a reassuring hug. "Because that's the only thing keeping me going," she whispered. "I love Ruby, but I wouldn't be doing her any favors by breaking down in my cockpit. So, I just get up and hope that we get a signal from her."

"Thanks, Yang," Weiss replied. "It's just that I've really grown to like the dolt over the past few weeks. I'd hate for her to die because of my mistakes."

"What do you mean by 'you've grown to like her?'" Yang asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Weiss stared blankly. "Dammit," she muttered.

Yang laughed. "Wow, first me, then my sister," Yang practically shouted. "People on this ship are gonna start talking, you know."

Weiss blushed and gave Yang a shove. "Would you shut up, you-"

"Attention all pilots from White and Yellow squadrons, report to the briefing room immediately. Repeat: All pilots assigned to White and Yellow squadrons, report to the briefing room."

"Well, that's our cue," Yang said with a grin. "Looks like we might be able to rescue your princess sooner than you thought."

"Brute," Weiss muttered as she stood up.

* * *

><p>"Settle down everyone, we'll begin the briefing in just a moment," Commander Goodwitch called over the chatter of the gathered pilots. She tapped a few commands in the console at the front of the room and pulled up a display of the surface of Vega six. "As you all are aware, the commander of the air group went down during our engagement over Vega six two days ago. Just this morning, we picked up a distress beacon from the planet's surface. The signal matches standard naval distress protocols, though it has a pirate IFF attached. As a result, we will be deploying both White and Yellow squadrons to search."<p>

"Now, when we detected the beacon," Glynda continued as she tapped several commands into the display, "it was scattered across ten-thousand square kilometers. Since then, we've been able to narrow that down to seventy-five hundred. All of your fighters have a homing signal uploaded to your computers. When you're on site, you will begin to hear a pinging noise. The closer you get to the source of the distress signal, the quicker the tempo. The signal will be connected to SWACS {**A/N**} Thunderhead, so make sure to remain in contact at all times. The Beacon will be running low-emissions in low orbit within the planet's ring system to help avert detection. If you need to communicate with the ship, you'll need to relay through Thunderhead, as your fighter's comms array won't be powerful enough to cut through the magnetic field. Any questions?"

"Yes, ma'am," Weiss called. "What do we do when we have confirmation where the distress signal is?"

Glynda thought for a moment. "First, try to determine if it is indeed one of our pilots, then signal the Beacon appropriately, and we will respond as with what the situation calls for. Anything else?" Nobody spoke up. "Very well then. This will be known as Operation Stray Sheep. Lieutenant Schnee, you will be CAG for the duration of the operation. We will be jumping in thirty minutes and the operation will commence immediately, so get to your fighters."

* * *

><p>"Attention all hands, this is the captain, prepare for phase jump," Captain Ozpin called over both the intercom and Weiss's helmet communicator.<p>

Weiss winced and gripped her fighter's flight stick tightly as the Beacon jumped to Vega six. Then, she felt the typical pulling sensation of the phase drive ripping a hole in space for a fraction of a second before it stopped and her helmet was filled with another voice.

"Attention White and Yellow squadrons, scramble now," Commander Goodwitch called. "Thunderhead, follow them out."

Weiss was thrown back in her fighter as she was catapulted into the inky blackness of space.

"All fighters, this is Ice Queen," she called. "Form up into your individual flights and prepare to dive into the atmosphere. Thunderhead, I want you orbiting the combat zone. Try to stay out of any fighting. Yellow squadron, flight four, you will be tasked with escorting Thunderhead. Everyone else, we'll be looking for the distress signal. Odds are the pirates are searching as well, so be ready for anything."

Weiss's helmet echoed with responses.

Weiss steeled herself. "All craft, dive into the atmosphere now!"

She pushed her flight stick forward and throttled up. Her fighter was quickly engulfed in a brilliant orange glow as it punched through the atmosphere. When it cleared, she was surrounded by the vast, shimmering landscape of the arctic world. She sighed for a moment, taking in the sterile, gleaming beauty of her surroundings. Shaking the feeling off, she glanced forward to her HUD.

"Thunderhead, this is Ice Queen, go ahead and activate the locators," Weiss called. "All fighters, break into flights and begin search."

Weiss's cockpit became filled with a slow, steady pinging. With a sigh, she pulled her fighter into a horizontal loop until the pinging picked up a little in pace. When she finally got a solid lead, she took off in that direction, pushing her fighter up to its maximum atmospheric speed.

"I've got a signal!" Weiss called as the pinging became even faster.

"Copy, Ice Queen," Yang replied, "You want us to head over to you?"

"Negative, keep searching, just in case my lead turns out to be a dud."

"Aight."

Slowly, the pings continued to pick up in tempo. Just as they nearly became constant, however, they completely stopped.

"Hey, my scanner's out!" One of the pilots called.

"Yeah, mine too!"

"Attention all craft, this is SWACS Thunderhead," he called. "We are detecting a pirate jammer craft in the area. You won't be able to continue your search until you take it down."

"Copy that. Anyone see it?" Weiss asked.

"Chopper here," one of the pilots called. "I see it, but I've got a Nevermore on my six. Not gonna be able to take it out."

"This is Archer," another pilot replied. I'm currently in pursuit of a pirate fighter myself, so I can't get to it."

"Dammit," Weiss muttered. "Hang on, I'll take it out."

She banked her fighter and accelerated until she saw the craft come into view. She narrowed her eyes, and squeezed the trigger, sending a flurry of particle shots at the craft. The ship's shield quickly failed, and the hull was almost immediately torn to shreds by the incoming hail of fire. Suddenly, the locator's pinging returned, and this time, it was almost completely constant now.

"Ice Queen to all craft, the enemy jammer is down," she called.

"Copy, this is Thunderhead, we're seeing the same thing here," the controller replied. "Ice Queen, you seem to be nearest to where the beacon's signal is coming from. Can you confirm that you have eyes on?"

Weiss banked her craft and fired several maneuvering thrusters to help keep her craft aloft. "Yes, I can see a wreck on the ground. Definitely looks like a Paladin." Weiss looked a little closer. "I can see small arms fire coming from both the tree line and the ship itself. There's also the image of a rose painted on the side of the ship."

"Hey, Ice Queen!" Ruby's decidedly cheerful voice came through Weiss's helmet.

"R-Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"The one-and-only!" Ruby laughed in reply. "I managed to set up a makeshift comms array here. Not very powerful, but it works. Hey listen-Yikes! I've got a few pirates giving me trouble down here. You think you could take care of them for me?"

"Where are they?"

"Over by the-Woah, that one was a little closer than I'd like. They're over by the tree line."

"I see them, coming in now," Weiss replied as she pulled her fighter in for a strafing run.

She overrode her missiles guidance systems so that they could fire without locking on to anything, and began to fly low over the trees. When she was finally in a good position to launch, Weiss fired two of her four missiles, and unleashed a barrage from her particle guns.

"Thanks, Weiss," Ruby said.

"Hang on, I'm coming in to land," Weiss said.

"Ummm...are you sure? I mean, the terrain is pretty rough here and-"

Weiss's fighter shuddered a little as its landing skids touched the ground right next to where Ruby's crashed fighter sat. "Yes, I'm sure," Weiss said as she climbed out of her cockpit and placed her helmet on the seat.

Ruby stood from where she was taking cover and limped over to Weiss. "Man, you should really change your callsign to snow angel," Ruby said with a laugh.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, other than the hole in my leg," Ruby said. "Although, suffice to say the painkillers they include in those survival kits work _really_ well."

"What happened?" Weiss asked worriedly.

Ruby shrugged. "Took a round from the pirate fighter that shot me down, remember?"

"Well, then we need to get you back to the Beacon!" Weiss said.

"Oh, I'll be fine, Weiss," Ruby said with a sigh.

Weiss rolled her eyes again. "Come on, you dunce, I'll signal Thunderhead." Weiss walked back to her fighter and put her helmet back on. "Thunderhead, this is Ice Queen, I've located Reaper. Sending coordinates now. Relay them to the Beacon asap."

"Thunderhead copys," he replied. "Coordinates received and sent."

"Good. Ice Queen, out." Weiss turned back to face Ruby. "You know, I just remembered, you were going to say something to me before you got cut off by the planet's magnetic field. Do you remember what it was?"

"Heh, yeah," Ruby said with a blush as she turned away from Weiss and scratched the back of her head. "You see the thing is...ummm...I...uhhh...I kinda...Oh, to heck with it."

Suddenly, Weiss found herself up against the body of the other pilot, who was kissing her fully on the lips. Weiss stood there startled for a moment, unsure of what to do, until she simply closed her eyes and kissed Ruby back. Both pilots stood there for a moment refusing to let go of each other. Eventually, Ruby released her, and looked into Weiss's eyes.

"So, what now?" Ruby asked.

"I think now we need to get you two love birds back to the ship," someone called from behind them.

Both Weiss and Ruby turned to face where the voice had come from. "How much did you see, Sun?" Weiss asked.

The marine shrugged. "I saw enough. Anyway, come on Lieutenant Commander Rose. We'll tow your fighter into orbit with us. As for you, Weiss, sorry, but you're going to need to fly yourself back."

Weiss rolled her eyes and climbed back into her fighter with a light smile. "Ice Queen to all units, mission accomplished. Return to base."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Story note:**

**SWACS: Spaceborne Warning And Control system. Basically operates for a fighter wing the way a flagship operates for a fleet of warships by providing various command and control capabilities.**

**Anyways. Yep. Ruby and Weiss kissed. Nearly sacrificing your life to save someone can do that occasionally. As well as a lot of off screen flirting. Didn't write that because, let's be frank here: This story wouldn't really add much if it didn't try to focus on the action.**

**Also, can anyone guess all of the Ace Combat references in this chapter? I'll be impressed if anyone does. More so if they do it without Googling.**

**Up next: Wounded Rose Part 2! Did Ruby survive the crash? Or will the lone white rose wither and die? Stay tuned!**


	6. Ch 6: Forever Fall

Weiss stared intently at her opponent, who let loose with a single punch. Weiss ducked under it and returned with a strike to her opponents stomach.

"Not bad," Yang commented as she blocked another strike from Weiss. "You're certainly improving."

"Still not quite where I need to be though," Weiss replied, panting lightly. "I really don't like my chances if I get shot down without my sidearm."

"So, what's goin' on between you and my sister?" Yang asked as she threw a punch.

Weiss blocked before bending over and holding her knees. "Could we break for a minute?" Yang nodded and followed Weiss off of the mat. "What do you mean 'what's going on?'"

"Well, Sun mentioned that he saw you two kiss when he went to pick her up from the surface and-"

"I'm going to kill him," Weiss muttered.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Well, anyway, i was just wondering what you two were planning."

Weiss shrugged as she took a drink from her water bottle. "I haven't really had a chance to talk to Ruby about it yet."

"Yeah, you have," Yang replied, shaking her head. "You just haven't done it yet."

"Oh? Like when?

"Hmm...I dunno..._Now_ perhaps?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Fine. Where is she?"

"Med bay," Yang replied. "She's checking in with the doc one last time to see if she's fit for duty again."

Weiss stood up and left the room.

* * *

><p>"And that's it," Doctor Peach said. "You should be ready to return to duty tomorrow."<p>

"Thanks," Ruby replied with a smile. "I've _really_ hated having to direct the fighters from the bridge for the past week."

"Just try to be more careful, Ruby," he replied with a smile. "I get the feeling you've got a lot more on this ship to live for right now."

Ruby scratched the back of her head nervously. "Heh. Yeah, you could say that."

"I heard about what happened between you and Weiss on Vega six. Just...Try to be careful. Military relationships can be difficult to pull off."

"Thanks for the heads up," Ruby replied.

"And speaking of the Ice Queen, here she is," Peach said. "I'll give you a few minutes alone."

Weiss stepped through the door to the medical bay as Peach exited to his small office. Weiss looked around for a moment before spotting Ruby sitting on a bed. With a sigh, she walked over.

"Hey Ruby," Weiss said.

"What's up Weiss?" she asked.

The white-haired pilot let out another sigh as she pulled a chair over to Ruby's bed. "I...I wanted to talk to you about what happened on Vega six. Just before Sun arrived to get you back to the ship."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Ruby said as she looked down at her lap. "I was just-"

"Hey, I wasn't finished yet, dolt!" Weiss interrupted.

"Sorry, Weiss," Ruby replied with a blush.

"Anyways, as I was saying, I wanted to talk to you about what happened on Vega six," Weiss paused for a moment. "And I've just decided that words wouldn't quite get my point across well enough."

Without warning, Ruby found herself being kissed by Weiss. Ruby sat there for a moment, shocked by the other pilot's action, but, not even a second later, she closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, moaning gently as she did so. When they finally broke apart, both pilots had a light blush.

"So...Are we dating now?" Ruby asked.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "What do you think, dolt?"

"Well, what about the fact that I'm your direct superior? I mean, I know the regs don't forbid it, but-"

Weiss rolled her eyes and cut Ruby off with another kiss.

"Well," Ruby said when they finally boke apart again. "That settles it, I guess."

Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but was swiftly cut off by the intercom.

"Attention all senior staff, report to the officer's briefing room immediately, repeat, report to the officer's briefing room immediately."

Ruby sighed. "Well, duty calls. "

* * *

><p>Ruby stood in front of the assembled pilots in the pilot's briefing room.<p>

"Well folks, I'll bet you're wondering why I gathered you here," Ruby started.

"We've got a mission," one of the pilot's called.

Ruby sighed. "Yes, we have a mission." Ruby turned to the screen behind her and tapped a few commands, pulling up an image of several ships, including the ship that the Beacon had fought just prior to Ruby getting shot down. "As you all are aware, the pirate fleet that we engaged about two weeks ago in orbit of Vega six was never beaten. Well, they were spotted near the Forever Fall nebula by a passing patrol frigate. This puts them in a position to attack almost anywhere on the Federation's border and then retreat before we can respond."

"Now, the R.F.S. Beacon, as well as four other ships, including the R.F.S. Haven, will be joining us for the operation," Ruby continued, as she tapped in several more commands, showing the ships that would be participating. "Admiral Qrow would have gotten more ships, but we're starting to get very short-staffed with the ships that keep disappearing. The plan will be to have the task force jump in, and hold position at artillery range. The force will launch fighters, and we will move in to tie up the enemy fighters and their torpedo bombers. Once we have their fighters tied up, one squadron from each ship will break off and move to escort a wave of our own torpedo bombers, which will make a hit-and-run on the enemy warships."

"With any luck," Ruby concluded, "that should be enough to bring down the enemy capital ships. Admiral Qrow will be on board the Haven in command of the battle, while the Haven's CAG, Lieutenant Commander Summer Rose, will be directing all deployed fighters. Any questions?"

"Yes," Blake asked. "What happens if the bomber wave fails to cripple or destroy the enemy ships?"

"Well, I'm guessing Admiral Qrow will decide what our next course of action will be. Other than that, I wasn't told anything. Anyone else?"

"Yeah, are you going to get your ass shot down again?" someone called from the back of the room.

Ruby sighed. "Who said that?"

"Ensign Winchester, ma'am," Weiss called.

"I'll let that slide this time," Ruby said. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."

"What're you gonna do? Blow up in front of me?"

"Yang?" Ruby called.

"Gladly," the blonde said as she stood from her seat.

She walked to the back of the room, grabbed Cardin by the collar, hoisted him into the air, and punched him squarely in the jaw. As he fell back into his chair, Yang turned around and walked back to her seat.

"What the hell?" he asked "Are you trying to get a court-martial?"

Ruby shrugged. "Anyone in here who wants to report this, raise your hand." Nobody did. "Thought that might be the case. The operation begins tomorrow at oh-nine-hundred. I want you all in your fighters and ready to fly five minutes before then. Good luck to you all. Dismissed."

Ruby watched as the other pilots walked out of the room. When the last person finally left, Ruby sat in a chair and slouched down, holding her head in her hands.

"Everything all right, Ruby?" someone asked.

Ruby looked up and spotted Weiss standing at the entrance to the room. "Weiss, sorry, didn't hear you there." she replied with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess everything's okay. I guess I'm just kinda tired of having to deal with people like Cardin."

"Well," Weiss said as she walked over next to Ruby, "I'd say you handled him just fine. Most just choose to ignore him."

"Thanks, Weiss" Ruby replied.

"Come on, we've got a long day tomorrow. We should probably get some sleep," Weiss replied, as she reached a hand out to Ruby.

Ruby took Weiss's hand and stood. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

><p>"Bridge, this is the CAG," Ruby called into her helmet, "All fighters are in their tubes and ready to launch."<p>

"Roger that, Reaper," Commander Goodwitch called. "Captain Ozpin will inform the Admiral that we are ready to proceed."

Ruby tested her fighter's flightstick, making sure all of her input was being received. Much to her relief, all of the damage had been repaired since she was shot down.

"Attention all hands, this is the Captain," Captain Ozpin called. "Standby for phase jump in one minute. Combat operations will begin as soon as jump completes. Red alert, all hands to battlestations, this is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."

Ruby winced as she once more felt the familiar pulling sensation that accompanied a phase jump. Just as it stopped, her helmet crackled with another voice.

"Attention on the flight deck, this is the X.O." Commander Goodwitch called. "Scramble all fighters, repeat, scramble all fighters!"

Ruby was once again thrown back in her seat as the dim interior of the launch tube was replaced by a shimmering, red nebula surrounded by the inky blackness of space.

"All Beacon wing units, this is Reaper," Ruby called. "Form up with the other fighter wings and prepare to engage."

"Reaper, this is Wolf," Ruby's mother called. "Have your fighter wing take the left side of the formation. Watch the flank, and get them into a dogfight."

"Copy, Mo-" Ruby stopped herself, "Wolf. Taking the left flank. Red squadron, White squadron, Black squadron center of our wing. Yellow squadron, Spartan squadron,you two get the left side. Valhalla, Samurai, you two have the right side. Shield squadron, you've got rear guard."

Ruby's helmet echoed with responses. She gritted her teeth and watched as the pirates disgorged their fighter wings, which started to rapidly close on the Navy's fighter group.

"All fighters, attack!" Summer called.

Ruby punched her throttle as far forward as it would go, and her fighter sailed toward the pirates. She squeezed her trigger, and a barrage of fire shot away from her fighter, slamming into a pirate that was approaching Ruby head on. She clenched her teeth as fire continued to pour out, until finally, the pirate fighter fell apart, and debris sailed past Ruby's canopy. She flipped her fighter around, and sped off to find another target, making sure to stay within her fighter wing's area of the battle. Another fighter flew in front of Ruby, and she pulled back on her stick to follow it, firing another burst from her guns as she did so. Several of the rounds stitched up the wings of the fighter, but failed to destroy it. The pirate banked left, and a third burst from Ruby carved through one of the fighters engines, causing the ship to start to veer wildly until it eventually slammed into another pirate, destroying both craft.

"Reaper, this is Wolf, come in," Summer's said.

"Reaper, go ahead," Ruby replied as she started to tail another fighter.

"I've sent the signal to the fleet to deploy the torpedo bomber wings. I want you to lead the escort group."

"On it," Ruby replied as she changed channels to her fighter wing's frequency. "Red squadron, this is Reaper. Break off the fight and form up with the bomber wings. Knight, have a couple of your flights take over the gap we're leaving."

Ruby flipped her fighter on its axis and sped back to the formation of warships, which were trading long-range fire with the pirate fleet.

Ruby took her place at the front of the formation. "All bombers and fighters in the escort group, this is Reaper," she called. "I'm sending you a flight plan. Be advised that it will take us through the capital ship artillery fire. Don't deviate from the course unless you want to end up as a pile of slag."

Ruby guided her fighter onto the trail that had been projected on her HUD, and matched speed with the bombers. All around her canopy, long range artillery cannon blasts sailed past. She gritted her teeth and continued to fly, weaving whenever the path shifted until she eventually managed to get to nearly five kilometers away from the pirate fleet.

_Close enough,_ Ruby thought to herself. "All bombers, launch torps now!"

Ruby turned her head around to look at the bombers, and she proceeded to follow the barrage of ordinance that was rapidly surging towards the pirate fleet. As soon as they closed into range of the pirate's defensive turrets, many of the projectiles were shot down. The few that did make it through the wall of flak exploded against the hulls of the pirate warships, but did only a little damage.

"Dammit," Ruby muttered to herself. Her thoughts began to race at lightning speed as she tried to come up with an idea. Suddenly, she was struck by an epiphany. "Computer, give me a detailed readout on the pirate battle-carrier's fuel lines."

An image of the pirate ship shimmered to life in Ruby's HUD. _Bingo_, she thought to herself. She pushed her throttle as far forward as it would go and sped into the wall of flak fire.

"Reaper, what the hell are you doing?" Ruby's mother called.

"I've got an idea, just hang on!" Ruby replied as her fighter shook from the flak exploding all around her. She flew her fighter directly at the battle-carrier's still-open open landing bay.

As she pulled into the landing bay, she turned her fighter's nose upwards at the door, which had slowly started to close, and cut loose with a short barrage of fire, quickly shredding the door's motor, stopping it dead in its tracks. She then turned her attention to near where a long hose lay across the floor. With a small smile, Ruby fired off a short burst from her guns and quickly flipped her fighter around to get out of the ship's landing bay before it exploded. Once she was out and well away from the flak fire, RUby turned her fighter, and watched as a series of massive explosions silently ripped through the battle-carrier until a single blast erupted from the center of the ship, sending massive pieces of debris. Several of the massive chuncks of ship slammed into the other, smaller ships of the pirate fleet, causing massive damage to two and outright destroying one ship, leaving only a single small frigate intact. The smaller ship quickly jumped away, leaving the two remaining pirate ships to be torn apart by the guns of the navy's warships. Ruby's helmet echoed with a chorus of cheers from her fellow pilots, causing her to smile slightly.

"Ruby Rose," her mother called. "That was this single most irresponsible, impractical, showy, impressive, courageous, and clever maneuvers I've ever seen. excellent work."

"Thanks, mom," Ruby replied, smiling broadly.

"Lieutenant Commander Rose, this is Admiral Qrow," Ruby's uncle called. "When you are back aboard the Beacon, please meet with me in the admiral's suite. I need to speak with you."

Ruby was silent for a moment. "Yes, sir," she finally replied as she turned her fighter and headed back to the ship. Something told her that her life was about to get very interesting.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Welp. Today has been pretty much the most miserable day I've had in a long time. No details, but suffice to say that it would be pretty hard for it to get worse at this point. *sigh* But enough about my problems. This story has over 100 follows! Thanks guys! And a shout out to **iLike2Sleep** for being the 100th follower! I do really appreciate all of the support you guys have given both this and Lone White Rose!**

**Anyways, I have two different directions to take this story right now. On one hand, I can keep Ruby as a pilot, and write this from that perspective, or I could have her promoted to Captain and give her command of a warship. As I have both paths already planned out, I feel that it would be best to let you guys decide! So, I'm putting a poll up on my profile, and you can vote for which one you'd prefer to see me write! And, don't worry, as I've already said, I can make this work for either choice, so neither one will lose any detail or plot elements. The poll will close when I post the next chapter of A Lone White Rose.**

**Speaking of, watch for Chapter 16 of A Lone White Rose to drop here in a little while! See you all then!**


	7. Ch 7: A New Path

**A/N: Just so you guys know, in case you haven't seen yet, the option that won the poll was to have Ruby promoted and give her a ship to command. If you'd like to see the final tally, the results are still up on my profile. For those of you who still want some fighter action though, don't worry, as there will still be some more to come before Ruby's promotion. I also should be able to find a way to work it in after her promotion, though it will be another person flying.**

**With that said, enjoy Chapter 7: A New Path!**

* * *

><p>Ruby stood outside the admiral's suite and let out a long sigh. <em>Well, this is it<em>, she thought as she tapped to door control to inform Admiral Qrow she was outside.

"Come in," he called.

Ruby walked into the room and saluted. "Sir, Lieutenant Commander Ruby Rose reporting as ordered."

"Drop the formalities, Ruby," Qrow replied, giving Ruby a light smile. "It's good to see you."

"Gladly," Ruby replied as she walked over and hugged her uncle.

"So, that was quite a stunt you pulled out there during the battle," Qrow said as they broke apart.

'Well, with all due respect, I knew I was going to make it," Ruby replied , her stance becoming slightly guarded. "I had the entire maneuver calculated and-"

"Relax, Ruby," Qrow interrupted with a small smile. "I've been an Admiral long enough to be able to recognize the difference between a suicidal move and a precise one. Yours was quite obviously the latter."

Ruby relaxed a little. "So, what do you need then?"

"Well, I actually had a question for you," Qrow replied. "As you may be aware, there is a new prototype ship being constructed at the shipyards in the Shadow of Light system."

"The R.F.S. Vale, first in the new Vale class of Dreadnoughts, correct?" Ruby asked, to which Qrow nodded. "And let me guess, you want me to serve as the ship's CAG?"

"Not exactly," Qrow replied, to which Ruby cocked her head slightly. "I want you to be the captain."

"You...You want me to be the captain of a capital ship?" Ruby asked.

Her uncle nodded. "Thus far in your career, you have not only demonstrated exceptional courage and skill, but also an unwavering concern for those under your command as well as a keen sense of the flow of battle. Those are all traits that I believe make for an excellent captain. So, the post is yours, if you want it."

Ruby stood there for a moment. "Are...Are you sure?"

Qrow laughed. "Ruby, you know me. Would I be asking you right now if I wasn't sure?"

Ruby scratched the back of her head nervously. "Yeah I guess you're right."

"So, what's your answer then?"

Ruby stood silently for a moment. _Well, I don't want to leave Weiss here_, she thought. _I wonder..._

"Sir, I'll take the post on one condition," Ruby said.

"Let me guess, " Qrow replied, a knowing smile on his face. "You want Lieutenant Weiss Schnee promoted to Commander and posted as the XO on the Vale."

"Umm...How did you know?"

"As I said, being an Admiral requires that I recognize things," Qrow replied. "First, I believe that you two are involved, correct?"

"That's not the only reason I want her," Ruby muttered.

"I understand. Just commenting. Anyways, the second item was that I was already considering her for the XO posting. You two make an excellent team, and I believe you would do well together commanding a ship."

"You're the best, Uncle Qrow," Ruby replied as she hugged him tightly.

"Easy there, Ruby," he replied with a laugh. "I still need to get Weiss in here so I can tell her about her new assignment before you kill me."

"Heh, sorry," Ruby said as she broke off. "Guess I'll head to my quarters then."

"Not so fast. I'd like you here for this," Admiral Qrow said as he walked over to the intercom. "Attention, Lieutenant Weiss Schnee, report to the Admiral's suite immediately."

After several minutes of waiting, the white-haired pilot walked through the doors and saluted. "Sir, Lieutenant Schnee, reporting as ordered." she said.

"At ease, Lieutenant Schnee," Qrow replied, and Weiss relaxed her stance slightly. "Lieutenant, I've received a request from the soon-to-be captain of the R.F.S. Vale that you serve as the ship's XO. The post is yours, if you want it."

Weiss stood there for a moment. ".You want me to be the XO of a warship?" she asked.

Qrow replied with a nod. "As I said, it was by special request of the captain."

"Before I answer, I'd like to know who the captain is."

"That would be me, actually," Ruby said from behind Weiss, causing her to jump a little.

"Ruby, are you _trying_ to kill me?" Weiss practically shouted.

"Well, taking into consideration that I saved you from getting blown up a few weeks ago, I'd say no I'm not," Ruby replied with a grin.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "So, you're the captain?"

"Yep!" Ruby replied. "Well, actually, I'm not the captain _yet_ but I will be."

"Speaking of that," Qrow said, "I'm going to wait to promote you until it comes time to commission the ship, so as to avoid a conflict of authority here on the Beacon."

"That sounds like a good plan," Ruby said, looking to Weiss , who nodded in response.

"Very well, you two are dismissed."

* * *

><p>"Still can't believe I'm going to be a captain," Ruby said as she sat down across from Weiss at a table in the officer's mess.<p>

"It's been a week already, Ruby. And, besides, you deserve it." Weiss replied.

"Thanks. And, don't forget, you totally deserve your promotion as well."

Weiss blushed lightly "Thank you, Ruby."

Both ate in silence for several minutes until the intercom blared.

"Lieutenant Schnee, Lieutenant Commander Rose, report to the senior staff briefing room immediately," Commander Goodwitch called.

Ruby sighed as she stood from her seat. "Guess that's us."

The pair walked silently through the halls, passing the occasional crew member as they walked. Finally, they arrived outside the briefing room. Giving each other a small nod, they approached the door, and it hissed open, revealing Captain Ozpin and Commander Goodwitch standing in front of a holographic display of an asteroid field.

Captain Ozpin turned around to face Ruby and Weiss. "Ah, good. You're here," he said calmly.

"What do you need, sir?" Ruby asked as she walked over to the display.

"I want you two on a long-range recon operation," Captain Ozpin said as he manipulated the display. "You will be here, in this asteroid field looking for a pirate base. You will be there for about two weeks."

"Why? We could just send in a recon frigate, find the base, and jump in with the Beacon to bomb it," Ruby said.

"Well, for one, the asteroid field is far too dense for even a frigate to fly through. Two, we don't want the pirates to be alerted to the fact that we know about this base, so we will be jumping in far from where the base is. As a result, you will need about two days of travel time to get there. Third, we believe the pirates have prisoners there, so when we actually launch our assault, we are going to send in a ground team to capture it."

"Sir, are you sure it's wise to be sending your two highest-ranked pilots for a mission like this?" Weiss asked.

"Normally, I would agree with you, Lieutenant," Ozpin replied. "Though, I believe this would give both of you an opprotunity to get used to working together on the same ship during duty hours. You will be taking the ship's R-71 Blackbird for the mission. Any questions?"

"When do we deploy?" Weiss asked.

"Tomorrow, so make sure to get a good night's sleep," Commander Goodwitch replied.

"Is there anything else?" Captain Ozpin asked. Both Weiss and Ruby shook their heads. "Very well then, you two are dismissed. Good luck."

* * *

><p>"You ready for this Weiss?" Ruby asked as she climbed into the crew compartment of the sleek Blackbird and sat in the seat beside the one Weiss was already sitting in.<p>

Weiss shrugged. "Not the first long-range recon mission I've done before."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "So, two weeks?"

"Yes," Weiss replied, giving a small nod as she did so.

"When do we start running low-emissions?"

"When we're about four hours out of our target area. When we arrive on site, we'll land on an asteroid, power down everything but basic life-support and sensors and start passively scanning for the pirate's base."

"Sounds like a plan," Ruby replied with a nod.

"Attention all hands, this is the captain," Ozpin called over the intercom. "Stand by for phase jump."

Ruby briefly felt the familiar sickness she always got whenever the ship jumped, wincing as she waited for it to stop. When it finally did, pulled her helmet over her head and gripped the Blackbird's flightstick.

"Bridge, this is Reaper," she called. " The Blackbird is ready for launch.

"Roger that, Reaper," Ozpin replied. "Good luck. See you in two weeks."

* * *

><p>"I've been waiting for a week now. What took you so long, Ironwood?" the woman said.<p>

"I apologize, ma'am," Commodore Ironwood replied. "I have been unable to report due to...beaurocratic issues that accompany the promotion I received a week ago."

"Hmmm...Indeed." Cinder muttered. "Any other excuses?"

"No, ma'am."

"Good. Now, would you mind explaining to me what happened at Forever Fall?"

Ironwood sighed. "I had no idea Lieutenant Commander Rose would attempt a stunt like that Realistically, she should have been killed by the flak fire."

"That doesn't change the fact that she wasn't," Cinder replied, looking distinctly bored. "As a result of your failure to prevent her from making that attack, we not only lost a battle-carrier, but two cruisers and a destroyer as well."

"With all due respect, I doubt I could have ordered any of my pilots to even attempt to stop her, as my CAG is her mother, and, even if she _is_ on our side, which I doubt, Summer is very protective of Ruby. There is no way she would ever agree to fire on her own daughter."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "I don't suppose you have any good news to report to me?"

"I believe that I have gotten four more captains to commit their ships to us," Ironwood replied. "This puts us at about sixty percent of all Remnant Federation naval forces that will fight for us when the time comes. Furthermore, the Terran Imperium has pulled additional forces away from the Federation's border. Our chance to strike is coming soon."

"Good," Cinder said, still sounding bored. "Do not fail me again, Ironwood."

The screen went dark, and Ironwood sighed heavily. "Commander Black, please inform Lieutenant Commander Rose that I wish to speak with her."

"Yes, sir," Mercury replied.

After several minutes of waiting, Summer walked in. "You asked to see me, sir?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, I have a question for you," Ironwood replied. "Do you believe the Terran Imperium is still a threat?"

Summer stood there for a moment and thought. "No, I do not," she finally replied. "Not only have they continued to abide by the terms of our treaty with them, even better than us in some cases, but they have also been continually pulling ships away from our border."

"Well, we'll have to disagree on that."

"Yes, sir. Was there anything else?"

Ironwood sighed. "No, you're dismissed."

Summer saluted and left the room, leaving Ironwood to sit back in his chair. _She might be a problem._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And here's chapter 7, now with more plot development! As always, thanks to all those who followed, favorited, and reviewed! You guys are totally awesome!**

**By the way, the Blackbird was named for the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the world record holder for the fastest plane ever flown, with a speed of mach 3.3 (3.3 times the speed of sound), as well as a sustained altitude record at 85,069 feet (25,929 meters). It flew so fast, that it had to be built almost entirely our of titanium due to the air resistance heating the plane to immense temperatures. Yeah.**

**Anyways, see you all when I post Chapter 17 of A Lone White Rose: Say You'll Stay! Until then!**


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